The use of conventional trimmers is well known for cutting grass and weeds. The trimmers commonly comprise a handle, shaft and head assembly wherein the shaft has a centrally disposed motor driven rotating drive element arranged to rotate a trimmer head having cutting strings. The high speed rotation of the trimmer head provides sufficient momentum in the cutting strings to severe standing grass and weeds. Trimmers are known to periodically jam or foul in circumstances where the plant material is tall and/or wet and the cuttings tend to wrap around the shaft above the trimmer head interfering with the rotation of the rotatable portion of the trimmer head. Similarly, cuttings tend to obstruct the rotatable portion of the trimmer head by jamming either around the head or between the outer circumference of the rotatable portion of the trimmer head and portions of the trimmer head that are stationary and fixed to the shaft; thereby necessitating the disassembly of the trimmer head to remove the offending debris.
Consequently, there exists a need for an improved trimmer head that provides an anti-fouling mechanism to reduce the propensity of cuttings from jamming the trimmer head thereby avoiding the disadvantages of the prior art. The present invention fulfills this need, and further provides related advantages.